Problem Gambling

Gambling involves risking money or something of value on an outcome based on chance. It can cause problems for individuals and their families. It can also lead to problems at work or even unemployment.

The key to gambling responsibly is never betting more than you can afford to lose. It’s also important to have other activities that occupy your time, such as exercise, hobbies and volunteering.

Definition

Gambling is a bet on an event with uncertain outcomes in which you risk something of value, like money, with the intention of winning another item of greater value. It may include private bets, lottery games, casinos, esports betting, and even some video game activities such as buying ‘loot boxes’ or extra lives.

Psychiatric research is in its early days, but we can expect to see that pathological gambling behaves in some ways like other psychiatric disorders. In order to better understand this disorder, we need to develop valid measures that allow us to compare its symptoms across individuals and over time.

Currently, many of the methods used to study gambling are flawed or unreliable. This is a significant barrier to our understanding of the disease and how to treat it effectively. However, a growing body of evidence is encouraging us to change the way we think about the problem and its treatment. This includes moving away from an increasing relationship between adverse consequences and gambling severity, towards a continuum of harmful behavior that can be compared to the progression of alcoholism, from abstinence through social or controlled drinking, into problem drinking with loss of control, and finally severe problem drinking with serious harms.

Addictions

Unlike causal gamblers, people addicted to gambling can’t stop themselves from betting. They often lose money, feel bad about their losses and are compelled to continue gambling to try and recoup their losses (chasing losses). They may even borrow money from friends or family to keep playing. This behaviour can have serious financial, work and relationships consequences.

Compulsive gambling affects people of all ages, sexes and socioeconomic backgrounds. Genetic and environmental risk factors increase a person’s vulnerability to developing gambling disorder, as do co-occurring mental health conditions.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy, an evidence-based treatment for addiction, can help someone address unhealthy thoughts and behaviors related to gambling. Therapists can also teach clients healthy coping skills and help them solve problems related to their gambling. Support groups, like Gamblers Anonymous, can also be helpful. These support groups are based on the 12-step model of Alcoholics Anonymous and allow people to find a sponsor who can offer guidance. They may also help an addict identify underlying issues such as anxiety, depression and social isolation.

Legality

The legality of gambling is a complex issue. While some states have passed laws allowing various forms of gaming, others have banned them completely. In some cases, federal laws supersede state legislation and prohibit certain types of gambling.

Some critics of gambling argue that it leads to political corruption, increased crime rates, and compulsive behavior. Others point out that gambling can bring benefits to communities by helping charities raise funds and bringing tourism dollars.

Many jurisdictions allow different forms of gambling to meet specific regulatory requirements. For example, New Jersey has become a leader in the iGaming industry and has developed strong regulations for its casinos, sports betting, and other games. However, the state is still struggling with illegal gambling, which is siphoning tax revenue from local economies and tarnishing the reputation of the legal gaming industry. This is a major problem because it makes gambling less attractive to potential customers. Moreover, it also increases the costs of running gambling operations.

Prevention

In order to reduce the risk of problem gambling, individuals can take steps to minimise exposure to gambling. This can include avoiding high-risk behaviours such as using credit cards, taking out loans and carrying large amounts of money; avoiding gambling venues; and limiting the time spent on gambling activities. Individuals can also seek support from a mental health professional to help them deal with emotional distress and learn skills to manage their gambling behaviour.

Preventive interventions can target a range of harmful outcomes including social and financial harms, psychiatric distress, and suicide. These include education-based programs and harm reduction tools such as self-exclusion and limit setting.

There is a need for preventions to be developed that incorporate different theoretical perspectives, address risk and protective factors, and have structured long-term evaluations. These could include educational-based gambling prevention programs for adolescents. Harm reduction initiatives should target communities disproportionately affected by gambling harms. Medications such as mood stabilisers are also useful in reducing gambling behaviour.